Arms spending signals BN’s intention to stay put
Large allocations for militarisation have created a ‘power elite’ hell-bent on maintaining the status quo, says an analyst.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Hefty profits made from arms spending would make it harder for the ruling coalition to concede defeat if the election favoured the opposition, and Malaysia could witness upheavals similar to the Arab Spring, suggested an analyst.
Dr Ronald McCoy, from the Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility, told a forum calling for defence spending cuts last night that large allocations for militarisation have created a “power elite” hell-bent on maintaining the status quo.
He said this was the reason behind the resistance from the army’s top brass and its politician allies on opposition calls to audit military spending, a move that could stop the flow of “large profits” into private pockets and used to finance Barisan Nasiona’s war chest.
“If the BN government is defeated in the [coming general] election, we can find ourselves in a similar situation to the Arab Spring,” he said while pointing out that the military was backing falling regimes in the region.
“That’s why the 13th general election will be a fight to the death,” he added.
The forum was held in conjunction with the Second Global Action Day for Defence Spending Cuts, an international call for governments to channel more funds towards basic necessities and combat widespread corruption in arms procurement.
Politicisation
Several government leaders including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak have been implicated in arms scandals worth billions, including the murder of a Mongolian woman who was said to be involved in the French-made Scorpene submarine deal.
